Dawn Cloud(Revisited)
by 15stepsdown
Summary: A mysterious organization only known as Akatsuki appear, not bent on capturing Jinchuriki, but claim the opposite. Not rogues but shinobi of their original villages, joined together in an international organization who protect and manage the Jinchuriki. However, decades of conflict between nations is still ingrained into the minds of many, and Itachi must endure it. Minor Sasodei
1. Prologue

_(Naruto Shippuden OST 1 Track 4 - Sengunbanba)_

_CLACK_

A sword hilt tapped the ground with just enough force that the sound could be heard across the room. All attention from the Kage's lifted, their eyes directed on the young man standing in the middle of the rounded desk. A Black cloak drifted over the floor with no wind to rouse it. After a long and tiring meeting, an agreement had finally been passed.

"From here on, we will establish our place to maintain peace among the great nations by promoting order and the enforcement of national law." Orange spiky hair topped off with a confident smile. Next to him stood two others in the same garb, a man and a woman who stood as his associates. "Amegakure stands to protect smaller and weaker nations, balance the power of the countries, and finally to take the first step in attempt to unify the people of the Shinobi World. Our aim is to bring true peace to the world."

The Raikage grunted and sat back in his seat, arms crossed begrudgingly. A deep frown was etched upon his face, irked at the tenacity of the youth in the middle of the room. A mere child dared to make such a proposition, and the others fell for it. He glared across the room, eyeing Onoki who sat dignified with a straight back, sitting in acceptance. Sarutobi was no different, siding with Iwagakure of all villages! He'd been outvoted four to one. This room was filled with idiocy. _Tch. They'll learn. _The Fourth Raikage sulked in his head and returned his sights to the new ruler of Amegakure.

Yahiko widened his already proud smile, eyes filled with sparks of optimism. Konan and Nagato also smiled. They'd made it. After months of preparation and work, it was decided at last. It was worth it to bring the rain to a stop in their village. Today was truly a sunny one. Yahiko continued, "Today the Akatsuki will stand as a national binding force! Expect great things from us! We will not disappoint you."

"A new dawn as begun!"


	2. Enter! A Brotherly Reunion!

**Helpful Guide:**

**Bold is for Author's notes or extremely emphasized words and dialogue.**

_Italics are for emphasis in dialogue, character thoughts, recommended OST's, and onomatopoeia. Short flashbacks are written entirely in italics. If it's long, it won't use the_ font_ and I'll make it obvious that it's a flashback arc. _

**Thank you for your attention!**

* * *

**Enter! A Brotherly Reunion!**

It was the usual morning. A hand lifted to shield Kakashi's eyes from the bright sun, one hand firmly gripped onto the strap of his backpack. From what he could glean from the position of the sun in the sky, it looked to be about 7 am, the perfect time to be returning from a mission.

Taking in the smell of the fresh air, he sighed and dropped his hand, gaze turning back to the bickering genin by his side. Squad 7 was his most recent team, the first squad he'd been assigned to in his entire career as jonin. Though he had passed the three on their ability to manage even the slightest bit of team-work, he wondered sometimes if he was being too optimistic. Of course, he was still impressed by their performance during the unexpected B-rank assignment just a while ago, but the mission itself didn't alleviate any tension within the group. Naruto was still a knuckle-head and Sakura was still head-over-heels for Sasuke. It didn't help any still that Sasuke refused to work with the others, attempting to cultivate his talents all on his own. Kakashi understood the need to advance one's own skills, but it was always done best in a group.

"I'm back everyone! Naruto Uzumaki has returned!" Naruto yawned, arms outstretched as he took in the sight of the village entrance. He was met with only the sound of a crow call in the distance, the road itself seemingly abandoned.

_THWACK_

"Keep it down you moron! Everyone's still sleeping!" Sakura's vein throbbed as she held her fist. Naruto popped back up from her bash, tears streaming down his eyes with a large bruise forming on his skull.

"Sakura..." He whimpered.

Kakashi chuckled lightly at their antics. Then again, the discourse wasn't always so bad. It brought something amusing to the day, something that couldn't always be had in their line of work. The kids were still learning, and they still had a ways to go in terms of learning how to be true shinobi. If they just got their teamwork together, perhaps someday, they could continue their antics and still be excellent ninja. What Naruto lacked in talent, he made up for with sheer effort. What Sakura lacked with focus, she made up for with her intelligence.

The pair continued to bicker. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask and turned to Sasuke who stood off to the side. The Uchiha boy's gaze lingered elsewhere. He usually refused to take part in these spectacles, though it wasn't uncommon for Naruto to drag him in somehow. Sasuke had both talent and hard work behind him, making him one of the stronger of the genin. However, along with that talent came arrogance. Kakashi still saw good in the boy, but Sasuke always did find a way to be a bit difficult at times.

"Kakashi! A little early aren't you?"

The gate sentry waved from his spot beneath the hut by the entrance. The two of them were familiar faces to the jonin, who often saw them on a daily bases. Kakashi took a moment to make sure his squad wouldn't run off behind his back before strolling over to greet the two. Kotetsu looked slightly tired, probably from holding his post so early in the morning. Izumo worked in the back, organizing files as the two chatted.

"Hello guys," Kakashi waved. "I'm guessing the Hokage put you two on guard duty eh?"

"You bet, I'd rather be asleep like everyone else right now but," Kotetsu stretched his arms and yawned while spinning in his seat, "I'm stuck here."

Kakashi blinked. "Oh, so you weren't doing the night shift?"

"Nope, got called in just an hour ago." The man huffed and rested his cheek on his palm, clear boredom on his face. "Didn't even get to eat a hearty breakfast."

"Hey, at least you're not dealing with a squad." Izumo flipped the calendar on the back wall. They would be entering the new summer month. He turned and gestured towards the genin at the front. "A mission now?"

"It was a short D-rank." Kakashi excused himself, only to earn an odd look from Izumo.

"Still, aren't the chunin exams starting in a few days? If I were you, I'd leave them to train than go on assignments."

The jonin closed an eye and made a light laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, well, you see. Naruto was bothering me about being bored and wanting to do something while he was waiting. I was gonna leave him be but he somehow got the other two complaining to me as well, so I had no choice but to look for something."

"Never thought of you to be a pushover." Kotetsu smirked and took a moment to think while his eyes wandered. He watched as the number of bruises on Naruto's head increased, the kunoichi of the group certainly displeased with his behaviour. His gaze drifted over them and settled on the Uchiha before he finally found something else to drawl on about. "Oh yeah, while I was here I saw someone interesting return."

Kakashi gave him a curious look. "Someone interesting?"

"You know'em. He hasn't been back in a while. I'm guessing he finally got dismissed from duty." Kotetsu let a mischievous smile creep its way onto his face and twirled a pen in his hand. He occasionally glanced at Sasuke, raising his voice to the point where someone from his distance could just make out his words.

As expected, the boy's ear twitched. He didn't make it obvious, but he slowly turned his attentions onto the regularly chatting jonin, just barely hiding a look of intrigue. Kotetsu simply huffed at this and waited for a response from the other.

"_Really_? I think I know who you're talking about." Kakashi appeared to catch onto his drift, also glancing at the genin ever so subtly. "How long has it been?"

"I'd say a month, but I don't tend to keep accurate track of time."

"What are you talking about?

The two jonin exchanged looks and addressed the newcomer. Sasuke stood at the hut, hands shoved into his pockets as he eyed the two suspiciously. Izumo decided not to take part in the talk but listen in as the two jonin played with the boy. Kotetsu faked ignorance and simply continued to spin his pen. "Oh, we're talking about the morning. Nothing much."

Sasuke wasn't going to take that for an answer. "No, I happened to overhear you two. You were talking about someone."

"We were?" Kotetsu blinked. He pinched his chin while humming in thought, his long pondering only serving to frustrate the genin. Seemingly unable to recall the conversation, he turned to his conrade. "Kakashi, were we talking about someone?"

The jonin hummed as well. "Hm, that's odd. I can't seem to remember."

"Don't play dumb with me." Sasuke frowned and placed a hand on the table. He wasn't about to be toyed with, and so decided that being straight forward was all he could do to get the pair to spill. "I know you were talking about someone. Some guy who came through here."

The two males maintained their blank looks just for a little longer. Finally, Kotetsu broke his facade into a knowing smirk. "Fine, fine. If you wanna know, I saw your brother come through here earlier."

Sasuke jolted on the spot to lean forward. "When?"

This time, Kotetsu came to a genuine loss as he attempted to recall how long he'd been standing at this post. It'd been so long that he barely even looked at the clock anymore, confident that it hadn't moved very far much less marked the end of their shift. He realized quickly that he couldn't humour the genin any longer and so pushed back in his chair to ask his best friend. "Hey, Izumo."

He received a quick grunt from him. Kotetsu glanced at Sasuke from the corner of his eye. "When did we see this kid's brother come in?"

Izumo turned away from the shelf to take a look at who he was talking about. At the sight of Sasuke Uchiha, he didn't hesitate to reply. "About two hours ago, why?"

Kotetsu returned to the boy. "Well there's your answer."

"He's back..." Sasuke whispered to himself, a realization dawning on him as he let the information sink in. All but Kakashi raised a brow at him as the boy appeared to stare into nothingness, no longer able to see the three. Sasuke repeated the same phrase to himself a few more times and began to back up from the hut slowly.

Sakura noticed the movement from the corner of her gaze. She paused from berating Naruto and turned to see what the fuss was about. The blond caught on as well and also stopped, attentions falling onto their seemingly struck teammate. Sasuke eventually halted but still held a dazed expression. The silence of the morning fell once again as concern began to rise for the Uchiha boy.

Kakashi raised a brow. "Sasuke? Are you-"

"I think..." The boy sputtered. "I think I have to go."

"Go where?"

"Go home. I-I have to go home, I forgot to do something." Sasuke spun on his heel and pivoted towards the nearest village street.

The thought of the mission report popped into Kakashi's mind and he immediately lifted a hand to stop him. However, he was too slow as the genin had already began a mad dash for the roads, already several meters away by the time he took his first step. Left in the dust, Kakashi considered actually going after him, but decided against it. Instead, he allowed a sweat drop to trickle down his temple. "W-wait..."

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out. Immediately, she turned to her sensei. "Kakashi-sensei! What's he doing? We need to hand in our report!"

"I know that, a bit late now though." The jonin stood down and made a resigned sigh. He heard the other two chuckle at him, amused by the dynamic. "Sakura, Naruto." His two remaining students looked up at him. "We're just going to have to hand it in without him."

"Hey! No fair! If Sasuke gets to go home, I wanna go home too!" Naruto protested.

"Yeah! How are we supposed to hand it in without him?" Sakura added, only for the jonin in charge to sigh again.

Kakashi let the objections drown out. He turned his gaze to the slowly brightening sky again, clouds drifting calmly among the birds. Their cooperation definitely needed some work, though letting Sasuke go this one time, he could let slide. Perhaps if the man from the organization were to stay longer, the boy would have more room in his head to heed his lessons before the chunin exams. _What a perfect time to be returning from a mission._

The people were little more than blurs to him. At the speed he ran, he couldn't fault anyone thinking for thinking that he was running away from something. In a sense, he felt like he was. The adrenaline that pumped through his legs, the heaviness of his chest, that odd sense of urgency. Sasuke felt small again, as if his legs were short and he had to sprint to even achieve a decent speed.

_"Mom! Can you help me with my homework?" The small child pressed a thin textbook to her mother's apron. The woman stumbled slightly, not expecting to feel such a disturbance. Sighting the young boy, she smiled and leaned down. _

_ "Sure Sasuke."_

A right turn. The sky slowly brightened but in his mind, he only thought he saw the darkness of the night approaching. He was pretty sure he'd nearly run over a cat but he didn't care. It had been so long...

_He waited quietly, hands clenched on his knees as he watched his father read his report card. It was his very first year at the academy and he'd worked hard to achieve the best grades he could. He stood out in class, he knew he was good at what he did. No one could throw a shuriken better than he could, no one could run longer than he could, no one could ace a test as perfectly as he could. Sasuke was sure he was the very best there was. _

_ Fugaku closed his eyes and lowered the paper in his hand. Sasuke blinked and leaned forward, eager to hear what his father would say to him. _

_ "Excellent. Maybe someday, you'll be as good as your brother."_

_ Well, maybe not the very best._

It was an uphill climb. The streets here were more empty as he entered the residential districts. Apartments came into view, clothes hanging over the street along with electrical wires and dogs tied to posts next to their suites. It only made sense that this area was lacking in food stands or general business at all. If anyone put their stand here, it would roll down the hill faster than they could set up shop.

_"Big brother."_

_ The older boy with similar black hair fixed on his shoe and turned from the spot he was sitting. He sighted Sasuke standing just at the entrance to the main room, a light blush on his face as he held his hands behind his back nervously. "Do you, uh, think you could help me with my shuriken jutsu after school today?"_

_ "No I can't, I'm busy." His elder brother paused to think. "Why don't you ask father to help you?"_

He finally reached level ground. The buildings closed in on him as he took a shortcut, the streets becoming more dirty and narrow as he travelled the road less explored. It almost felt like that one time. Only now, the sun was rising rather than sinking. His backpack felt heavier than usual, and the feeling that he was being watched returned.

A familiar building came into sight and Sasuke halted to gaze up at it. There it was, the current Uchiha residence.

Ragged cloth glided smoothly over the wooden surface in circular motions. He did this for a few seconds, then withdrew to reveal a clean reflective polish. It was so clean, he could see a blurry version of himself staring back proudly, pleased with the outcome of his work. Promptly, the man put away the cloth and set the small tea table back into the middle of the room. He sighed and wiped a drop of sweat from his brow before taking a good look at his work. The table shined in the low sunlight, it's glossy surface almost made him guilty at the idea that he'd have to use it. Somehow it would dirty again and the process of polishing would repeat. As was the chore of cleaning of course.

He patted his clothes down and stood up to take a gander at his surroundings. The main room was already neat, blue-grey pillows stacked in the corner along with a well-stocked and organized shelf of books. The curtains were pulled back and tied nicely with a blue rope and tassel, allowing a good amount of sunlight to pour onto the reflective wooden floor. A small Uchiha crest was wiped and displayed over the dinner table. It didn't need to be flashy, it just needed to be around. He placed both hands on his hips and smiled to himself. A job well done, though it was only the living room finished now. He still had the bathroom, the bedrooms, and the kitchen to tidy up but he was confident he could manage. Their apartment was a large one but it was still a flat nonetheless. It was barely larger than a small house and though they could afford one with the money he'd earned from endless missions, he was sure that his little family of two didn't need it.

The sound of the doorknob wiggling and a keys being drawn startled him. He felt no lasting alarm however as he simply waited for the entrance to be unlocked. With a few clicks, the knob turned and the door swung wide open to reveal a face similar to his own. Sasuke stood with one hand on the door and the other on his knee, panting heavily.

Sasuke took one last heavy breath and looked up to see his elder brother. His eyes grew wide and he pinched the skin on his knee to make sure he wasn't dreaming. There he stood, Itachi Uchiha in the middle of room donning home clothes and a grey apron, had finally returned from his mission after several months.

"I-Itachi...you're back!" Sasuke dropped his bags at the entrance and dove in to embrace his older brother. Itachi staggered back slightly but couldn't dodge the 42.2 kilogram genin. Sasuke buried his head in his stomach.

The elder brother blinked and quickly sighted shoe marks dirty the floor he'd just cleaned. For a moment, he considered scolding Sasuke but at the sight of his younger brother embracing him so blatantly, he found he could only make a small smile.

"Welcome home," Sasuke whimpered into his apron. Itachi simply sighed and ruffled the boy's hair. The sight of his perfect floor ruined bothered him, but it really had been a while.

He sighed. "At least take off your shoes first."

* * *

**A/N: This fanfiction was originally a story I did for fun with no real goal in mind but I as I began to write it, I realized how in depth I went with the details and how much I began to plan out future arcs and the backstory of the characters. Since my other main fanfiction(Little Artist) is finally coming to a close, I believe I will focus on this one now if I have the time.**

**If I had more character slots, I'd put Itachi, Naruto, Akatsuki, and SasorixDeidara in there as a warning. Though I will mention that this fanfiction isn't labelled a romance at all so the pairing will be _very _subtle. I'm gonna try and keep to a wider audience. **

**Thanks for reading! Nice to meet ya!** **Please review if you'd like!**


	3. Danger! A Pair of Murderers?

**A/N: I apologize in advance if there's any confusion! I've rewritten this chapter many times because I wasn't satisfied with figuring out how I would make it work. The main problem was not messing up the Chunin Exam timeline!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Trouble! A Pair of Murderers?**

"Agh! I don't get it!" Naruto crossed his arms and squinted in thought. Because of the his teammate, things didn't go too well. The squad ended up having to turn in the report without him, and though it wasn't much of a report at all due to its D-ranking, there was some concern over why they were missing someone. Since the last incident with Zabuza and the bridge, the Hokage had become wary of clients who would settle for less capable ninja in exchange for a lower price. The issue itself wasn't unheard of, but it didn't make it any less serious. He could tell that was what they were thinking, that somehow they'd been duped again and Sasuke was holed up in the hospital. No one wanted to admit that the Uchiha had left on his own accord.

"What the heck could have been so urgent anyway?" He huffed to himself as he made his way down the cobble-stone path. Naruto was grateful that no one else seemed to be around, lest they hear him rant to himself. "Surely it could have waited until after the report..."

He sighed and shook his head, not much he could do about it now. At least it was over and Kakashi took most of the slack. Naruto frowned and looked up at the sky. It was a perfectly clear day today. Summer was looking good as usual, and he found a grin had replaced his frown. Naruto giggled, "Well, looks like a good day to get some training done!"

The area he wandered into was a cobblestone path surrounded by trees. Some benches were lined up in the middle, empty of any bystanders. Naruto bounded off, ducking into the trees on a shortcut route to his favorite area. At the very least, Sasuke was out of the picture and he could mind his own business.

His shortcut lead to a block. Naruto wasn't surprised when he emerged from the brush only to be met with the 3 meter high wire fence surrounding the area. There was an established entry way for every training ground, as so wanderers would not accidentally stumble their way into ninja's practicing dangerous jutsu or sparring. It wasn't something he hasn't seen before, all of the training grounds had them, and they were nothing to a top-notch ninja like himself.

The genin hooked his hands onto the spaces between the wires and began to climb his way up. He'd jumped these fences many times before, even as an academy student. When he made it to the top, Naruto swung his legs over and plummet into the leafy canopy of the trees on the other side. The blond landed on a branch and promptly made his way to the clearing he knew was located in the middle.

_Clink_

The sound made him pause. He recognized that sound, the sound of metal hitting metal, though it didn't seem to be a fight. Naruto slowed his pace as he arrived to the clearing. Grabbing some branches, he peaked through the leaves curiously. Had his spot been taken?

The clearing was sun-dappled, soft grass growing on the floor with some light-brown spots that indicated wear and tear. Several target boards decorated the area, a few were fixed to the ground while others hung off tree trunks. If Naruto leaned over a little, he could sight a few hidden behind the trees, facing another direction completely. In the centre stood a male who looked to be in his early twenties or younger. He wore casual village clothing and tied back his black hair in a low ponytail. The man carried at least four kunai in each hand, the sound of the clinking coming from his slight movements.

_Who the...is he a ninja?_ Naruto couldn't glean a headband on him, though he really couldn't recommend anyone but a ninja to handle kunai knives. The male appeared calm, eyes gazing out onto a single target board placed on the tree in front of him. He held an extra kunai in his mouth and took a slow but deep breath through his nose.

Suddenly, he sprung into the air. Doing a flip, Naruto could only see a blur of movement as the male threw each kunai from his hands with expertise. He almost seemed to float in mid-air upside-down as he released the other four and quickly passed the kunai in his mouth into his free hand. Arching his back, the stranger made one last throw, sending the blade to clash into a previous one he had thrown before, averting it off its path. The stranger landed with his gaze to the floor, barely sparing a glance as all ten of his kunai struck their targets dead-on, even the ones behind the trees.

A second passed, and the stranger slowly came to a stand. He sighed and wiped a bead of sweat off of his brow and took a gander at his work. Sure enough, all targets had been hit. He wasn't going rusty anytime soon, that was for sure.

"Whoa! That was so cool!"

The stranger blinked and turned to see where the voice had come from. Down from the canopy, Naruto jumped emerged and landed, both hands clenched in fists of excitement. The boy was grinning from ear to ear and quickly jogged over to the stranger, met with a look of genuine surprise.

"Say mister, are you a ninja? Cause that was a completely, totally, and utterly cool!" Naruto pumped his fists, stars in his eyes.

The stranger only blinked at his words. He hadn't expected to be interrupted during his training. He'd only come out after a long morning of chores and cleaning. "You...don't know who I am?"

Naruto halted his appraise and squinted at him. He appeared to think for a moment before answering his question with one of his own. "Should I? Sorry mister, but I've never seen your face before."

_I guess it's no surprise, I have been gone for a while..._The stranger cocked his head slightly, black bangs slightly covering his eyes. Deciding to accept the younger's ignorance, he made a smile. "Oh, well my name is Itachi Uchiha, nice to meet you, Naruto." He paused and turned back to gaze at the target boards. "So, have you come here to practice?"

"Itachi huh? You bet!" He fixed his headband as it gleamed in the sunlight. Naruto paused as well, then sent a puzzled look towards Itachi. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

He only received a chuckle as the man turned back to him. "Everyone knows your name, even I do." Itachi sauntered over to the nearest target board and leaned down. He grabbed the sides and pulled it off of the grass, then patted down the back from any bugs that might have latched on. He grasped his kunai and yanked it off. "I'm sorry for using this area, I'll clean up quickly and leave you to do your thing."

"Wait, you don't have to-" Naruto held up a hand to stop him. "I meant, we can share it."

"No, it's fine, really." Itachi continued to make his way around the clearing, picking up target boards and yanking off his knives to pocket. He stacked the thin boards on top of each other and held them to his side. "I have work to do, I only came out to stretch and have a little bit of fresh air."

"That was a stretch?" Naruto mumbled to himself as his arm began to lower.

Itachi finished up quickly as he claimed and made his way to exit the clearing. He turned and gave Naruto a friendly wave. "I wish you luck during the Chunin exams." He smiled briefly and stepped into the bushes, disappearing into the undergrowth.

Naruto blinked, left in silence as the sound of a crow cawed in the distance. This lasted a little longer as a realization slowly dawned onto the genin. _Wait! He knows more about me than I know about him! How does he know so much about me? _He frantically surveyed the area, making sure that he wasn't being watched by somebody else. Confusion flooded him and he pinched his chin. "Is he participating in the chunin exams too?"

* * *

_ Oh Sasuke!_ Sakura entered the street, face riddled with concern. She stuck to the side of the building walls, the image of the rushed look on the Uchiha's face lingering in her mind, eyes drawn to the floor ahead of her feet. _I wonder what got him so worked up. He's not usually like that._ Sasuke often tended to be calm in any situation, and if not calm, then certainly active in some way. It would certainly be a bad thing if something really bad happened. They only had a couple of days to go before the Chunin Exams were due to begin. If something complicated had really arisen, then what could it mean for them? Kakashi seemed to know what he was on about, but didn't mention it to the other two. _Kakashi-sensei seems calm about it..._

_No! _Sakura paused and shook her head, shaking herself out of her worry. _No! I can't be like this! I have to be strong! For both Sasuke and Naruto! Sasuke is tough, it can't be that big of a deal. _She forced herself to look forward, only for her attention to be caught.

Metal glared off of the sunlight, an odd engraving visible on the headband. Sakura blinked as she sighted a man walk towards her, or more accurately, simply strolling the opposite way down the street. He was obviously a shinobi due to his uniform, but he looked different. Instead of a forest green flak jacket, the long-haired blond wore a brown vest with a thin pouch around the abdomen. Underneath the flak jacket, a leaf ninja usually wore the standard blue uniform, but this man wore burgundy red. One of his arms was covered in a long red sleeve while the other remained bare, on the same side, a dark red lapel hung over his thigh. Tell-tale signs of a foreigner for sure, but it wasn't just the uniform that immediately had her on edge.

The headband he wore was not of the leaf, instead, engraved into the metal plate were two rocks, the smaller in front of the larger. It was a symbol that Sakura easily recognized, one that she'd seen often in her history textbooks.

_A rock ninja? Here? _Sakura continued on her path, though deviating slightly to give the man some margin of space. The rock ninja didn't appear to notice her, single visible eye focused on the floor ahead, like she had done just a few moments ago.

As they passed shoulder to shoulder, the voices of her previous classroom teachers at the academy rung in her head like a warning bell. Sakura remembered clearly considering how much the subject was brought up as a topic. According to her teachers, the leaf and rock were enemies. During the units they went over including the second and third shinobi wars, ongoing conflict between the leaf and rock was usually front and centre during those times.

She didn't entirely know how the Chunin Exams worked, but it still sounded odd to her. In spite of all that conflict, Konoha would let someone from Iwagakure come here? Not only that, but only the chunin ranks and above could wear the official uniform of the main force. If that man wore it, he couldn't have been a genin, therefore making him ineligible to register.

Then for what purpose?

Suspicion roused, Sakura paused, and turned around to look back at the rock ninja's retreating back. So far on her missions, she hadn't really made headway if any at all in combat. It was always Naruto and Sasuke doing everything for her. Regardless of all that, she was still a leaf ninja wasn't she? It was her duty to protect and serve Konohagakure. Sakura's expression hardened as she slowly began to walk back the way she came, keeping a careful eye on the outsider's movements.

She followed him to end of the street, where the Iwagakure ninja paused and surveyed his surroundings before ducking into an alley. Sakura paused and quickly pressed her back to the wall. _An alley? I knew it! He was up to something suspicious!_

She knew she couldn't follow him. In a narrow space like an alley, she was at a disadvantage, as if she wasn't already in nearly any situation. Regardless, Sakura knew she had to do something, she couldn't just let the man go without figuring out what he was doing. Swallowing her fear, Sakura inched up against the wall and slowly peeked her head into the alley.

It wasn't entirely dark. The other end of the alley appeared to lead into a quiet residential street where light streamed in. Sakura couldn't see clearly but she could glean another man in the alley. The rock ninja appeared to meet with him, and the voice of the one with red hair and a sand uniform spoke first.

"You're late. Do you have them?" He asked.

The rock ninja nodded. "I have them, but you better make it quick, I have somewhere to be, un." His voice was lower, seemingly more cautious as the other as he attempted a whisper.

The redhead only raised a hand at him. "Just had them over and you can be on your way."

"Don't complain, it's not my problem, un." The rock ninja huffed and began to rummage through the pouch on his vest. He pulled out a small scroll and unrolled it, making the seals for a summoning jutsu. The seal erupted in large smoke, and into the arms of the blond, dropped what appeared to be something large covered in a black tarp.

"Handle it better!" The redhead hissed as he made a grab for the object. Caught off guard, the Iwagakure ninja fumbled with it and the tarp began to slide off.

"I am!"

The continued to fumble with the seemingly heavy object. The slid more and more, until Sakura sighted what appeared to be a hand fall from the grip of the redhead and hang lifelessly. The details were not all apparent to her, but she didn't care. She thought the shape that the tarp seemed to cover was odd, and the situation had only gotten worse.

_What is that? A dead body? Did they kill someone? _Sakura felt her heart begin to hammer. No, it couldn't be, but it looked like it. Why else would they be whispering to each other inside an alley where no one would see? This was bad, very bad. Sakura quickly withdrew from the corner and shuffled back. _I have to tell someone! _Sakura didn't notice as she backed up that a stray cat had settled itself next to her. She lifted her foot and put it down a little further away from the corner, only to feel something furry too late.

The cat yowled and immediately moved to scratch her leg. Sakura withdrew in shock, watching in pure horror as the cat scurried off, still meowing loudly with a ruined tail.

"What was that!?"

Sakura looked back, only to see that she was fully visible to anyone in the alley. The rock ninja suddenly let go of the body and whirled around to sight her.

"Shit! Someone saw us, un!" The rock ninja pointed.

_Oh no! _If those two weren't genin, then she didn't stand a chance at fighting them off. If fight wasn't an option, then flight was all she had left. Sakura immediately turned on her heel. She needed to get away, and get away fast.


	4. A Grave Misunderstanding?

**A Grave Misunderstanding?**

_(Naruto OST 1 – Bad Situation)_

An evening stroll and stretch was exactly what he needed to get his muscles loose. Itachi smiled lightly to himself as he stuck a stick of the village's special mitarashi dango into his mouth and switched hands to carry his target boards. He was passing one of the rivers, on the other side of the street, the marketplace bustled with energy. Itachi missed this, the rushing water, the busy street chatter, the bright sky over familiar housetops and the leafy trees that surrounded his home.

Itachi savoured the taste of his dumplings. How long had it been since he had been able to eat something with flavour? And without the pressure of a mission on his shoulders-well, he technically had one in a couple of days, but it didn't concern him too much. Naruto seemed low-risk, not the type to get riled up too badly during the Chunin Exams. Like this, his mission would be easy. There would be no need for him to be on high alert so he could go about the next two months in well-deserved relaxation. Free from food pills and cold nights. Itachi had to admit: he missed the soft and cozy things, and as it seems, his job allowed for it.

There was no rush back. Itachi suspected that a nice little trip to some of his favourite cafe's was in order. He almost guilty with how relaxed he was. If the others saw, they'd definitely be seething. Itachi took a moment to turn and watch the crystal clear river flow. He chewed quietly and inhaled the air. It didn't smell like blood or steel, nor the smell of wet undergrowth in the forest. It was a fresh scent.

Ah yes, nice and calm.

"Itachi! You think you could help us out here, un!?"

Peace broken, Itachi turned back to the road. Immediately, he sighted a someone charging his way. Itachi nearly dropped his dango as what appeared to be a pink-haired kunoichi nearly slammed into him. If he hadn't side-stepped her at the last second, he surely would have dropped his dumplings. There was a disturbance among the crowd, until finally two familiar figures emerged. Itachi looked up, noting that he hadn't expected to see _them_ now of all times.

"Deidara? Sasori?" Itachi blinked as he sighted the redhead and the blond.

His misplaced surprised only served to frustrate both of his co-workers. The two made a sharp turn to run along the river, finally approaching Itachi where he stood. Deidara panted slightly to catch his breath while the sand ninja simply glared at the Uchiha.

Itachi was obviously not catching up with the situation. "You two made it to the village already?"

"That isn't what's important right now!" Sasori snapped.

"Did you see a girl run through here?" Deidara asked and immediately raised his palm just below his shoulder. "About this height, long-hair, horrified, un?"

Itachi blinked, mind attempting to keep up with the blond's rushed speech. He nodded slowly and pointed "I think so, she went that way," He paused and narrowed his gaze at them skeptically. "What did you two do?"

"Look, I was just handing over some puppets over to Sasori but as it turned out, that girl saw us! She must have thought we were trying to hide a dead body or something and probably plans on telling someone, un!"

"You should have checked to see if you were followed!" Sasori retorted, only to earn a glare back from the rock ninja.

"I'm _sorry_! It's a little hard to do that in a busy street!"

"What?" Itachi took a moment to register this information, expression immediately hardening. "This is bad," The other two stopped bickering upon hearing his serious tone. "If words gets out that two foreign ninja have committed murder, you'll be detained."

"I know that!" Deidara snapped at him and started back to the street. "If you got free time, maybe you could help us _not _get detained, hm?"

Sasori nodded towards his partner and the two were off, continuing the chase. Itachi watched quietly as the two grew smaller in the distance. He grabbed his dango stick and stuffed the two remaining pieces into his mouth before tossing the skewer. Itachi neatly stacked the targets and placed them down before turning on his heel and joining the chase.

"I need to find a jonin standby station!" Sakura huffed to herself as she sprinted through the streets, pushing and shoving through the sea of people. She knew this would slow her down but it would be harder to locate her in a group. She would increase the chances of her pursuers losing her in the crowd and she would be free to alert someone more capable.

"Wait! Wait!"

Sakura glanced over shoulder, sighting the rock ninja and his companion, begging her to stop. No chance. She knew what she saw and she wasn't about to stop and talk with dangerous shinobi. Looks like they had found her, and were coming up fast. _I need to delay them! _She sighted a fruit stand up ahead. Immediately, the sight of a crate of oranges inspired an idea, though not a very creative one she had to admit.

"Did she not hear me, un?" Deidara frowned as he tried to slide his way through the crowd. He normally wouldn't be going at a chase like this, but he feared disturbing the apartments above.

"I'm pretty sure she did, but didn't want to stop." Sasori replied, also finding difficulty with the amount of people on the street.

Deidara groaned. "Great, so calling out to her is useless huh?"

She grabbed the edge of the crate and threw it down, spilling the oranges all over the floor. Luckily, the owner didn't appear to be in sight, so she wouldn't be yelled at just yet. In a life or death situation however, a scolding wasn't her main concern. She didn't stop, but glanced over her shoulder to see if the oranges worked.

The two definitely saw them, but that didn't deter them. The two shinobi simply resorted to the buildings and split from the street to the walls, running sideways on both ends to surround her. Sakura recognized what they were doing, the tree-climbing technique that Kakashi taught them in the land of waves. To do it so flawlessly and without hesitation, they were certainly skilled.

"It didn't slow them down!" Sakura found herself bound to the street. Their figures grew larger, indicating that they were showing up fast. _Without people in the way, they're actually getting faster!_

Deidara tried again. "We didn't kill anybody, un!"

"Shut up! Someone's gonna misinterpret you and we'll get in more trouble!" Sasori grabbed a hanging soup ladle and chucked it across the street, successfully wacking the rock ninja in the skull.

"OW!"

_I lost them. _Itachi blinked, losing sight of the two from the crowd. No point in following the pair now if he couldn't see them. He looked towards the tops of the apartments. About three floors, not bad, he could try to find them there. Itachi crouched slightly and jumped his way up the side of the building, continuing to sprint on the roof.

Sakura turned a corner, quickly realizing that she'd stumbled onto the emptier residential district. Little more than a few stray animals and moving boxes could be seen laying about. Lines crossed the sky, clothes hanging in every which way from the windows of the suites like a net. She continued to dart down the road, glancing back to make sure her pursuer's were still on her tail and entering the same street.

_This street is empty! I won't have the cover of the crowd anymore! _Sakura grit her teeth and kept up her sprint. She looked around for an object, a sleeping cat in the path, anything to help her. Finally, her gaze lifted to the sky and rested on the drying lines. _There! _Sakura slipped a kunai from her weapon's holsters and eyed the line.

"She's got a kunai!" Sasori notified his partner.

Deidara scoffed. "What's she gonna do? Throw it at us, un?"

"With one measly knife?" Sasori tisked. "Even a brat can't be that stupid."

She threw the knife into the air, successfully slicing one of the drying lines. The string slacked, dropping the clothes that were pinned to it. In a chain reaction, the other lines began to succumb to the weight of their clothes, drooping quickly without the strain and support and onto the two shinobi below.

The ground began to grow darker below the pair's feet. Deidara noticed first and glanced at the floor. He turned his sights to the sky, too late as a large white sheet landed over his head. Sasori fell victim to it as well, quickly piled in fabric upon fabric as the drying lines failed to hold. Both of them fell to the ground, barraged in other people's wet clothes.

"This is so stupid!" Sasori growled as he struggled to yank layer upon layer off of him. With every second they were delayed, the brat was getting further away, likely to land him in the deepest of trouble. He managed to make a hole for himself to peek out, only to curse to himself as the genin wasn't in sight.

He started at the sound of a kunai being drawn. Sasori glanced over towards his partner, only to realize that Deidara's patience was beginning to wear. "Wait! Don't cut them!"

"Why not!? They're not my clothes, un!" He heard the muffled voice of the blond protest.

"That's exactly why you shouldn't cut through!" Sasori grabbed what appeared to be a pair of light pink women's panties off of his head along with other rags. "If you destroy them, we're going to have to pay out of our pockets once this is over!"

"Help me out then!"

Sasori growled and threw off the remaining articles of clothing. He sincerely hoped no one had noticed, or else they'd have more than just Itachi to answer to for all of this destruction of property. He marched over the piles of fabric and began to dig out his partner, eventually finding him underneath a bed quilt. He grabbed Deidara's wrist and dragged him out of the mess, giving him a moment to shake off the rest of the debris.

_Yes! That must've worked! _She found herself smiling when the path behind here was completely empty. She fist-pumped in her head and turned back to the street, catching sight of her saving grace.

Just a few blocks off, a building came into sight with a large "上" painted on a circular sign. A jonin standby station. Exactly what she needed. Normally lower ranks like herself weren't permitted to enter but this was an emergency. It wasn't the main one by the academy but surely someone must be willing to listen to her. There would be no time to go through the entrance. Sakura stopped by the window and pressed her hands to it. All hope faded as she peered in. The lounge was completely empty, not a single soul in sight.

_Where are they? _Itachi surveyed the street from his spot on the roof. He still couldn't see the two, nor the girl either. He really was beginning to worry. What if that girl had told someone already? What if those two were fighting leaf ninja or getting imprisoned? He would be the only one who could bail them out as a leaf ninja himself. He could only imagine the sort of things that could happen if word of this reached the organization. It would surely leave a black mark on all three of their permanent records.

* * *

Sakura slowed down at the entrance of the park. Doubling over, she grabbed her knees and panted, sweating heavily and heart-hammering. The next jonin standby station was at the academy, she'd never make it there. She was lucky to be able to deter those creeps, but it didn't mean she'd have lost them for long. Sakura lifted her head slightly and gazed around her. It was a cobblestone path with a few empty benches lined up in the middle. Surrounding the path were several trees, all making a forest that walled in the road.

"There she is, un."

Sakura held in her breath and whirled around. The sand and rock ninja stood over the trees on both the left and right, eyeing her down. There was no where to run now, they'd found her, and she was too tired to sprint. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and poised her hand by her weapon's holster on her thigh.

"Hey now, let's not get violent, un." The blond held both gloved hands up in surrender. Sakura still eyed him carefully, obviously taking his gesture as a bluff. The rock ninja frowned and hopped down to the path. Two shuriken shot his way. He raised a his hand and caught them pinning his fingers into the holes, letting both of them spin harmlessly to a stop.

_That's just like the way Kakashi-sensei did it! _Sakura's eyes widened, her outstretched arm dropped as she realized the weight of the situation. The memory of the training grounds appeared vividly in her mind. Two shuriken had been thrown at their sensei by one of her teammates, and while reading his novel, he'd caught them mid-air in the exact same way. However, Kakashi was a skilled jonin. Were these guys just as strong? Jonin level?

Not good. She may not have the energy but she had to run. Fighting would be a quick way to die. Sakura turned on her heel and started to run, but something tugged at her shoe and held it back. She fell face-first into the ground, then tried to recover by lifting herself up by her elbows.

"That's harsh, Sasori no danna! You didn't have to trip the kid, un!" She heard the rock ninja spout.

"I don't care. I've been humiliated, I won't let her try to get away again." The one supposedly called 'Sasori' snapped back.

"You gotta admit that it was clever though."

Sakura rolled onto her side and rubbed her nose. There was no deformation, she should be counted lucky to not have broken it. Clearing her hands from her face, she was met with the sight of the rock ninja leaning over her, eyeing her curiously. He raised a brow and moved his hand to offer to her. "You okay kid?"

_Thunk_

A shuriken struck the ground between them, just barely scratching the blond's wrist. Both ninja blinked, though the two didn't look particularly surprised. Sakura was left speechless, then looked on behind the two. A smile grew on her face and she clenched her fist to her chest. _It's!_

"Who are you two?" He stood by the entrance of the park just a few meters away, hands shoved into his pockets.

Sasori moved his gaze as he turned to the boy. Something seemed familiar about this kid. Medium length black hair, black eyes, collared shirt, and a flat tone. They all sounded familiar. His partner turned away from the girl, a visible bead of sweat trickling down his temple. Deidara sighed and scratched the back of his head tiredly. "This is really turning out to be a mess...un."

"Sasuke!" Sakura scrambled to her knees. "These guys are dangerous! I saw them in an alley way! They were exchanging a dead body!"

Sasuke blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "Murderers huh?"

"Hey, I swear we're not-"

Deidara spoke too late. Sasuke had already come charging in and sent a punch towards his head. Deidara cursed and caught his hand, only for the Uchiha to twist and aim a kick at his stomach. The older male immediately let go of his hand and slid back to dodge the kick, separating him from his partner. Sasuke landed on the floor and tried to sweep the feet beneath the redhead, only to miss as the sand ninja had backed off beforehand.

Sasuke caught up with the iwa nin and continued to aim kicks and punches at him. The pattern remained the same for the first few seconds. Either his arm or leg would be caught, and then he'd block a few times before dodging the last hit entirely to put distance between them. Sasuke frowned as he aimed to chop the others neck, only for the blond to grab his wrist and throw him off. Sasuke flipped in the air and landed easily, trying again at the rock ninja.

Sasori only watched, no intention of helping his partner calm down the fierce genin. It actually amused him a little, to watch Deidara try and fail at getting his words across. The guy wasn't exactly known for his conversational skills, so seeing him try was truly a spectacle.

_We're far enough. _Sasuke pulled his right hand free and wrapped his hand around something not visible to the eye. Deidara blinked and glanced over, only able to catch a glimpse of a fishing line glinting in the evening sun.

The thread lead back behind the redhead. Sasori watched without alarm as the shuriken on the floor behind tugged loose and came hurdling towards his back, string now taught with the distance put between them. Sasori only scoffed and slipped out a kunai, quickly cutting the wire and catching the shuriken.

"He knew I had strings attached!?" Sasuke was distracted for a moment, allowing Deidara to grab his ankle and hang the boy upside-down in the air.

Sasori grabbed what was left of the thread and pinched it between his index and thumb. Slowly, the thread began to pulse, then a faint blue aura began to channel its way through the string. Sasuke was only able to watch as the thread that he controlled suddenly controlled him, yanking him out of the blond's grip and tossing him high into the air. For a second, Sasuke saw the sky, then he saw the ground right before he rammed right into it.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out.

"Sasori no danna! That's too much!"

Sasuke clenched his teeth and pressed his palm to the ground beside him. Slowly, he lifted himself off of the floor, only to hack slightly, the pain still bearing down on his chest and head. He panted for a moment, then gazed up to meet calm brown eyes.

"What a disappointment," Sasori muttered from above him. "Is this everything the leaf genin has? I've seen better from Kankuro."

_Oh no. I've been beat! _Sasuke continued to pant, still shocked that his shuriken thread trick was soon through so easily. He sighted his teammate from the corner of his eye. If he didn't get up and do something, they would end up dead. His fingers pulled into a fist and he contemplated his course of action for a moment. No, he had to do this. It was his last resort.

"Lay off danna! He's just a kid, un!" Deidara jogged over to the redhead and glared at him, only to be ignored. Of course, he sometimes forgot how merciless his partner could really be when he was mad. Not that the blond could do much about it. However this, he could barely watch. It just wasn't right to see an adult beating on a mere child these way.

_I have to do it! _Sasuke rolled onto his back and sat up. Immediately, he rushed through his hand seals, ending on tiger. He took a deep breath, his chest rising as he gathered the energy into his lungs. **"**_Fire style: Fireball jutsu!_"

Sasuke spewed flames, the fire forming into a massive inferno sphere. Sasori and Deidara looked up too late as the fireball approached, the heat influencing the wind itself. They were in too close of quarters to dodge, and at this proximity, even a small one would do massive damage.

"_Water style: Water Bomb Jutsu!_"

Suddenly, a gigantic rush of water intercepted the path of the fireball. The wave itself dwarfed the flame, easily dousing it in less than half a second. Sasuke shielded himself, holding an arm over his head to protect himself from the stray streams of liquid. This power, a water bomb jutsu of this level could only be achieved by someone he knew. Soon, the water slowed and quickly dispersed, revealing both the sand and rock ninja, unharmed though there's clothes were a little damp. There was a short silence as everyone attempted to register what had just occurred.

"Is everyone alright?"

Sakura blinked and her sights returned back to the park entrance. A young man who looked to be in his twenties ran into the scene. She leaned forward. "Whoa, is that who I think it is?"

"Sasuke!" The older male rushed past the two foreign ninja without a hitch and quickly knelt down by the genin's side. He supported the younger with his arms, slowly helping the boy come to a stand. His eyes were soft and concerned, eyeing the trembling legs of the small Uchiha.

Sasori took a few steps forward. "You're late, Itachi."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Itachi slowly let go of Sasuke, giving him a chance to stand on his own. The boy struggled for a moment, then gently pushed away his brother as he began to manage. Itachi stood up straight, eyes still lingering on the boy. He glanced over at Sakura. "Are you okay?"

Hearts popped from her eyes and bright pink flush covered her cheeks. Sakura found herself absolutely infatuated, feeling weak at the sound of his voice addressing her. "Yes! Yes, I'm definitely okay! Only thanks you and Sasuke of course!" She swayed, unable to keep herself still.

Itachi let out a sigh of relief. "Good, nobody's seriously hurt." He took a few steps back, then raised his voice to address everyone. "Please, don't fight. There's been a misunderstanding. Let me clear things up."

"Misunderstanding?" Sasuke raised a brow.

The blond blinked as Itachi walked over to them. "These two are not murderers, they're friends of mine." He gestured towards him. "This is Deidara, he's from Iwagakure." Deidara blinked, then bowed slightly in greeting. Itachi nodded and gestured to the redhead with his other hand. "And this is Sasori, he's from Sunagakure." Sasori crossed his arms and scowled. Itachi turned to the kunoichi. "Now...what's your name?"

Sakura snapped out of her stupor and quickly replied. "Sakura! Sakura Haruno!"

"Sakura, what did you see?"

The kunoichi averted her gaze to the floor to think. "Um, well, I was walking and I saw," She hesitated to remember the name. When it didn't occur to her, she simply nodded her heads towards Deidara. "I saw him walking the other way. I got suspicious so I started to follow him and he ducked into an alleyway. There, I saw him talk to the sand guy and he summoned a body."

Sasori stepped forward and glowered at her. "Yeah, that _dead body_ you saw? That was a _wooden_ puppet of mine," He spat.

"What?" Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. "But-but it looked so _real_. The hand did at least."

Deidara snickered and quickly turned to his comrade with an excited smirk. "Hey, danna, show her your art, un!"

"Tch, fine." Sasori closed his eyes and pulled out one of the scrolls hanging at the back of his flak jacket. The scroll itself was a dark red, lined with gold edges and about the size of a forearm. He unrolled the paper and used the first sealing formula that appeared. A white smoke erupted. It took a few seconds to disperse, revealing a humanoid wooden puppet in his arms. The puppet sat limp, like a dead body. He frowned. "Is _this_ the 'dead body' you saw?"

Both genin stared at it, absolutely amazed by the craftsmanship. In the light, it was much easier to see the ball-joints and little separations between the fingers and in the neck. It almost looked creepy, the bald puppet with several holes in its skull.

Deidara grabbed the arm and raised, knocking on the shoulder with his fist. The sound it made was hollow, as if one had knocked on a door. "One hundred-percent wood, or well, it's actually mostly metal but you get the point, un." He smiled and referred to the redhead proudly. "Danna's a puppeteer, and he makes puppets for a living. He's so good at it, they look alive don't they, un?"

Itachi smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Really?" Sakura couldn't tear her eyes from it. _To think that there are people in this world that can do this. _The kunoichi cocked her head, turning serious again. "Wait, if it was just a puppet, why were you exchanging it an alley?"

"Shit, um. Don't tell anyone okay?" Deidara let go of the puppet arm and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He received suspicious looks from the genin, who didn't seem to like the idea of keeping secrets. He ignored their stares and prepared himself for a long explanation. "Well, ya see, getting through the security was a bit difficult. Sasori no danna hoards his puppets like crazy so he wanted to bring them all with him for the two months he has to stay, un."

"I do not hoard them!" Sasori shot a deadly glare towards him.

"But, due to reasons, Sasori was told he couldn't pass through to the village with so many puppets on him so he came to me and we worked out a plan." He paused and frantically surveyed the park to make sure no one he didn't know was listening in. "He would give half of his collection to me to carry through separately. If we arrived at separate times, it would be technically legal for us to enter. The plan was to meet up right after and I would give him everything back. Problem was, I had to be somewhere and Sasori no danna was super impatient. We didn't want anyone to be suspecting us of breaking the rules so Sasori had us do it in an alley where probably no one could see us, un." Deidara took a moment to rest after the long explanation. He dipped his head, then lifted it slightly to glare at the puppeteer. "We didn't have to get so secretive but danna was paranoid."

"I am not paranoid!"

"What?" She attempted to wrap the concept around her head. "So, the reason why you were doing it in alley was...because the Sasori guy hoards puppets illegally?"

Itachi stepped in before Sasori could snap at her. "Now that everyone understands each other." He turned to his little brother, who appeared to finally be recovered from being thrown to the floor. "Sasuke, I've forgotten to inform you, but Deidara's going to be staying with us for the next two months. I've been cleaning up the flat in preparation for his arrival"

The younger Uchiha raised a brow, then looked towards the blond. "What? Why? Can't he just rent an inn somewhere?"

"Unfortunately he can't." Itachi decided not to press the matter. "I've cleaned out the study for him to use. I hope you don't mind studying for your exams in your own room instead." He turned to Deidara, who only seemed poker faced. "Since you're here, I'll walk you over to our place."

"Hold on!" Sasori seemed displeased with the idea. The puppet in his arms erupted into a smoke and he placed his scroll back into the holster. "I haven't even gotten all of my puppets back yet!" He shot a glare at the girl. "Because of this brat, I only got one!"

"Surely you can go a day or two without them," The Uchiha said.

The iwa nin popped up from behind Itachi. "Yeah, don't worry danna, I'll take _good _care of your puppets, un!" Deidara chirped and waved at the puppeteer. His grin however was sly, and sand ninja sensed other intentions.

"Anyways," Itachi continued. "I have to walk Deidara over to my apartment. Do you want to come Sasuke?"

The genin frowned and regarded their new guest. Normally, he wouldn't care as long as he didn't get into his business but after fighting the blond, he wasn't so sure. Friends huh? So these were Itachi's friends? Sasuke shrugged. "No thanks."

"U-um." Sakura cleared her throat, easily turning attentions onto her. She stood up and lced her fingers together nervously. "I-I'm sorry for causing such a ruckus but I have one more question."

Itachi nodded.

"That guy from the rock," She gestured towards Deidara. "I know this might be rude but isn't it strange for you to be here?"

Sasori and Itachi tensed at her question. Both turned to look at the blond, all eagerness gone from his eye. His lips were pressed together, eyes turned to the floor as he contemplated the question. He knew this would come up eventually, but not so soon. A breeze flew over the area as Deidara tried to find an appropriate response.

However, the kunoichi wasn't done yet. "I can't say I know much about the Chunin Exams but, wasn't Konoha and Iwa at war for several years? Up until the last war. I know the ninja from all over come for the Chunin Exams but why an non-allied nation? I mean, you're not even a genin are you?"

A drop of sweat trickled down his temple. Deidara was still speechless, unable to figure out exactly how to answer that question. Everything she said was true of course. Sensing that the inquiry was stressing him, Sakura tried to pose a few options.

"Is there a team from Iwagakure? It would explain a lot if you're a squad leader."

Sasori opened his mouth to answer for him but was quickly interrupted. "There is no squad from my village." Deidara finally looked up to meet her gaze. "I'm not a squad leader. Lord Tsuchikage chose to deny the invitation form, un." His voice was low, attempting to sound unaffected by the question but he couldn't avoid the occasional break in his tone. "I'm here on other business."

"Deidara is harmless." Itachi ended it off on a last note. "There's no need to worry about him. Now that everything is settled, I think we should all go on our separate ways."

Itachi sighed and turned around. He sighted his comrade still staring hard at the floor, seemingly thinking over the question already answered. He prodded his shoulder and encouraged him to return to the village street.

Sasori watched quietly as his partner and the Uchiha left the scene. He was still irritated. Even though it went well in the end, it still annoyed him to think that in exchange for his work, that entire event had transpired. They'd barely been introduced to the jonin by the Kage here and they had already narrowly dodged danger. He turned his sights onto the pink-haired brat and scowled. If it wasn't for her, he'd have everything he needed right now, the humiliation could have been avoided. He had half the mind to scold the kunoichi, but he needed to remember. This village was not his. These genin would not heed his word nor bow to it.

Well, there were other ways. Sasori huffed. "Hey you, brat."

Both genin looked up. Met by his glare, they immediately became wary. Itachi was no longer here, and Sasuke sensed that this guy was not as gentle as his brother was. Sakura gulped, wondering who he was referring to.

"Don't expect me to eventually forget everything you did." His voice was ice-cold. "You still have an fruit stand and a bunch of tenants to answer to. I'm not paying for the damages."

With that, he promptly walked away, also returning to the exit of the park. Sasuke and Sakura stood alone for a moment. It took a while, but eventually, the question popped into the mind of the younger Uchiha. "Damages?"

Sakura froze, then paled as white as a sheet.

"U-uh, don't worry about it! It's not like I destroyed anything..."

* * *

**A/N: I like Sakura, shippuden Sakura at least. Her ignorance is not from her personality or from bashing, it's the way she was taught. Much of the mentality will be explained in the next chapter. **

**Thanks for reading! Nice to meet ya!**


	5. The Uchiha Residence!

**The Uchiha Residence!**

There was a click, then a few wiggles of the knob before the door finally swung open slightly to allow some light to pour into the entrance. A finger flicked the light and promptly illuminated the room. Itachi stepped inside and kicked off his shoes, setting them aside neatly right by the wall. He walked further in and gave room to his guest. Deidara was understandably hesitant. Itachi had never known the blond to take much of a liking towards travelling to other places. Of course, Deidara enjoyed the outdoors as much as any other ninja, but when it came to staying in a village that wasn't Iwagakure, he acted like a scared rabbit.

Though he didn't mention it at all, Itachi caught that Deidara had briefly checked the entrance for traps. His single eye gave it away, and he seemed to regard the door before finally stepping inside. Deidara took off his own shoes and noted that the only pair at the door were Itachi's and his own. He raised a brow and looked at the Uchiha. "Uh, you stay here with anyone else, un?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, it's just me and my little brother."

Deidara accepted the answer and walked in with the other. Entering the main room, Itachi flicked on the light and immediately headed for the hall. Itachi gave the other a glance. "Get settled down, I'll go fix up your room a little."

The blond nodded and moved to sit down on the floor. It wasn't much, but it was definitely large for an apartment. The wooden floor was scrubbed clean and the book-case looked like it was just for display. Even the tables were spotless, the only objects on them were cups which looked to be just bought. Deidara almost glared at the cup. Of course, the great Itachi Uchiha had the cleanest apartment possible. Save for the few dishes in the sink, it barely looked like anyone lived here.

It contrasted greatly to his own abode in Iwagakure. Deidara's home was no pigsty by any means but it at looked like someone was living there. Here? Deidara wondered if Itachi even touched half the things in this room. He remembered being told that the population in Konohagakure was immense, so he ought to be impressed at all that Itachi managed to keep the place spacious looking.

_Hmph. What a way to make me feel worst without even being in the room. _Deidara turned and wandered the only hallway. He could see three doors. The one by the left and the back both have Uchiha crests hung on the front. _Probably Itachi's and Sasuke's rooms. _The third room just across from the one on the left didn't have a sign. The door was slightly ajar, letting some light pour into the hall.

The door swung inside and Itachi emerged, one hand still gripping the doorknob. "I'm done, you can come in."

The two entered the former study. It was sparse, just a bed for one on the right and a desk and dresser on the opposite side. The window was drawn open, revealing a rather good view of the village tops facing the mountainside faces of the Kage's. Deidara briefly wondered if this was a joke. Itachi giving him the room that faced what was arguably a much cooler and his opinion, artistic, monument compared to the one back in Iwagakure.

"Did you bring anything?" Itachi asked while folding the bed sheets.

"Un, just a bag of clay and extra clothes, un" Deidara walked to the desk and pulled out a scroll from his red sleeve. He placed it on the table and began to unseal some items. He knew he could have been less flashy and brought a regular bag, but he'd grown used to this method since bags were but hindrances on their missions.

"You didn't forget your cloak did you?"

"No, why would I forget it, un?" Deidara simply retorted, but didn't seem to be up for starting a fight. He placed a few books here and there, immediately putting the desk to use.

Itachi smiled briefly. "Just checking." He returned to fluffing the pillows. "Sometimes new members forget their uniform. They're not used to wearing the cloaks so someone has to lend them one of their own. I've had to do a couple of times."

Deidara huffed. "Sounds like those guys didn't last to long, hm."

"They didn't I'm afraid."

The blond finished with unpacking the few items he had and leaned against the table. "So what? Is forgetting my cloak a bad omen or something, un?"

"Sort of." Itachi placed one last pillow and took a moment to look at the nice and neat bed. He smiled to himself and took a look at the clock sitting on the window. He turned around and exited the room. He paused and glanced over as if he had forgotten something. "I'll leave you to get changed. We don't have anything to do for today so..." He blinked. "You can just rest for now. I'm sure Sasori is busy with the sand genin. My room is just across from yours. I'll be in there so if you need anything, don't hesitate to pop in."

"Yeah sure, un. So the one at the end of the hall is your brother's?" Deidara pulled his hair over his is shoulder and began to unravel his low ponytail.

Itachi nodded and promptly left the room. He closed the door after him, granting the blond some privacy. Strolling into his own bedroom, Itachi immediately opened a window to let the room air out. He'd finished the entire home, but his own room. Just touching the window, he already felt old dust stick to his fingers. It was obvious that Sasuke wasn't caring for his room while he was gone. Of course, it wasn't his to take care of. Itachi walked over to his desk and picked up an old photo of his family. Taking a dusty he kept on a shelf, he began to brush off the dust, revealing the faces of his parents and brother. Itachi set it down and cough for few seconds. Yeah, he really needed to start cleaning his own room. Not that in the sense it was messy but, well, it hadn't been touched in a while.

Itachi looked at the floor and lifted his foot, noting what appeared to be his own footprints picking up the dust to reveal the wooden boards. He sighed. No doubt, there was dust in every nook and cranny of this room. _Not even Sasuke stepped in. If he had, I would have seen his footprints. _

"Oi, Itachi?"

Itachi turned to look at the door. Deidara had emerged from the former study, now wearing more casual clothes including a green kimono jacket and a pair of brown pants. His hair was completely loose, no longer donning his headband. In his arms was what appeared to be his folded Iwagakure flak jacket and uniform. "Is there a laundry basket somewhere, un?"

"It's in the main room by the window."

Itachi watched his guest walk off. Returning to his business, he moved to the shelf and quickly scanned the spines of his old books. Many of them happened to be textbooks and folders from his academy days. Some of them were new like the books that detailed the culture of other village's. Those ones he'd purchased only a couple of years ago. He skimmed over it and eyed a smaller book. He pulled out the top with his finger and slipped the book out. A cloud of dust visibly released into the air, causing Itachi to fan the book with his hand and dust it off before looking at it.

He heard what sounded to be a something hitting the floor mixed with dropped paper. Deidara blinked and looked up from the laundry basket, only to watch as Itachi walked into the main room with at least four books stacked over each other, the cover of one them looking hastily taped together His expression seemed stiff, more stiff than usual at least.

"Itachi?" He cocked his head.

"I just found out I have some overdue books." Itachi hurried towards the exit and grabbed his shoes. "I'll be back soon, don't leave okay?"

Deidara stared, then crossed his arms. _So, the great Itachi Uchiha isn't as perfect as he seems huh? _He didn't let the amusement show however, only replying flatly. "No way, I'm not going out there where I could get stabbed in the back at any moment, un." He shivered slightly at the thought.

Itachi simply accepted the reply. He hastily unlocked the door and rushed out, slamming it closed after himself. By slam, well, it was a little louder than a normal person would have closed a door. That was what passed as a slam for the Uchiha.

The blond stood for a moment, then gazed around the room. Barely an hour into his stay and he was already left to his own devices. His gaze moved about the room as he contemplated what he could do while he was waiting. Deidara actually wanted to get straight to business after he had everything set up. The mission couldn't wait, though he was a little irked that Itachi seemed so lenient about it. Eventually, his attentions were drawn down the hall and onto the third door at the very end.

Deidara opened what was supposedly the door to Sasuke's room. He knew he was rude to barge into other people's rooms without permission but he was older wasn't he? As long as he came and left without a trace, it wasn't like the kid or his brother would notice. If Sasuke complained, the he could just say that he forgot it was his room and got carried away with exploring the flat. Of course, his expectations of the genin's room were blown away the moment he first set his sights on it.

First thing that came to his mind was: spacious. The room itself was huge, twice the size of either his or Itachi's room and probably a little larger than the main room. Across from the door were three large windows, and to his right, a large balcony complete with potted plants and tables. Deidara blinked a few times, then pondered if he heard Itachi wrong. This was that little leaf kid's room? No way, it was way too big for him.

Deidara strolled in and sat on the bed. Surely a master's bedroom with the size of it. Maybe this was actually Itachi's room? No, he heard clearly that the room across from the study was Itachi's. If what he heard was right than this had to be the little kid's room. Deidara half-expected to see a modestly sized bedroom with just as little decor as Itachi's. Instead, scrolls with motivational phrases were hung on the wall, painted in big bold characters.

Getting off of the bed, Deidara rounded it to the back of the room. There, he sighted a two photo's propped up by the window. The first was an hold horizontal frame. It depicted two middle aged adults, and what looked to be younger versions of Itachi and his brother. Deidara smirked and picked it up. So, this was what Itachi looked like as a kid? Itachi appeared to stare lifelessly at the camera, mouth set in a thin line like what he assumed to be his father with the distinguished jaw. He looked...less happy in this photo. Deidara could tell it was old too, the colour scheme was a shade of orange brown, and only getting worst with age. He set the picture down and looked at the other ones. A picture of a younger Itachi and their mother stood with an academy aged Sasuke who smiled brightly at the camera. The photo was aged as well, also rusty in scheme. The one next to that was a picture of the Itachi he recognized of today, standing with a forced smile behind his bother. Sasuke wore a headband now, and simply stared at the camera with a straight expression. The frame seemed new and the colours on it were bright. If Deidara had to guess, this picture was taken at the boy's graduation ceremony, commemorating his becoming of a genin. Probably recent too, about a few weeks old.

Well, that was enough looking at pictures. Deidara had learned enough about the kid from the three pictures alone. Sasuke was a happy kid at the entrance ceremony, and a sad kid the next. Not a strange thing really, Deidara had seen his fair share of receding smiles in his own village. A thing that came with age.

He set the frames down and skimmed over the rest of his small shelves and tables. Deidara crouched and began to snoop through his book collection. Academy textbooks, hand-writing textbooks, the usual study materials. Deidara paused, eyes transfixed on what looked to be a series of novels, or manga?

Maybe he would give them a try. See what kind of books the kid liked to read.

* * *

Itachi kicked off his shoes and placed them neatly by the door. He sighed. As expected, the fines were immense. Not so much that it put a dent in his wallet but one could imagine that about five months worth of overdue fines were something that certainly stung his pride. At the very least, it was over, and he managed to avoid looking the librarian in the eyes when he paid.

He stepped into the main room and looked around. Deidara didn't appear to be in sight. He poked his head into the kitchen and found it empty as well. Itachi wondered briefly if the blond had gone against his requests and went out anyway. If that was the case, he'd gives props to the Iwa nin for bravery, but drag him back inside for safety.

"Deidara?" Itachi called out. He waited a few seconds, only to hear no reply. He glanced down the hallway and sighted that Sasuke's room door was open. He blinked and strolled down the corridor, eventually peeking into his brother's room. "Sasuke?"

He walked in, then sighted his guest laid on the floor in front of the bed. Surrounding him in small stacks were several manga volumes, depicting the adventures of young knuckle-head ninja. Itachi blinked and leaned over Deidara. "What are you doing?"

The blond jolted on the spot, then stiffened and removed the manga from his face to reveal a flat expression. Deidara put down the book and glared at him. "Reading, what else, un?"

"Are those" Itachi leaned down and picked up one of the lying volumes. He leafed through it before closing the manga in his hand. "Are you reading Sasuke's old manga?"

"Old manga?" Deidara repeated. He rolled onto his back and gave the Uchiha an odd look. "You mean he doesn't read them anymore, un?"

"Deidara, this is a manga for children." Itachi replied.

"What? What are you talking about?" The rock nin glanced back at his page in confusion. "It's not bad. The art is decent. The style is really good, un!"

The older Uchiha slumped at the foot of his younger brother's bed. "The last time I saw Sasuke read any of these was when he was eight." He pinched the corner of the cover, noting the fuzz of the paper there. The plastic was beginning to peel, and plenty of folds were torn. "I was planning on throwing them out or donating them to the orphanage when I got home but," He glanced back at his companion. "Do you really enjoy these?"

"I guess-" Deidara gave the volume in his hand a judgemental look. He closed it and quickly set it to the floor. "It's not _that_ good. The art is decent! Not good. The art is what's most important." He trailed off into a mumble.. "I-I don't like it _that_ much, un."

Itachi simply smiled at his attempt to look mature. He tossed the book back in with the others on the floor. "It's fine, I won't judge you for enjoying them. Sasuke doesn't touch them anyway so you're free to read his manga whenever you like. I guess I can throw them out once our mission is over."

"Really? You don't mind, un?" Deidara gave the Uchiha an almost hopeful look. A second passed before he suddenly realized what he had just said and immediately tried to change his attitude. "I-I meant I don't care!" He sent a weak glare towards the opposite wall. "You can throw them out right now if you want. The characters are too happy and stupid anyway, hm."

The Uchiha stared blankly at him, then picked up the volume at his feet and strolled over to the trash and held the book over it. "Alright then, I guess it's time to continue my chores."

"WAIT!"

Itachi withheld a snicker and turned to his terrified guest with the most innocent face he could manage. "What? I thought you said I could throw them out if I wanted to."

"I-I haven't-" Deidara withdrew and sat back, face reddening in embarrassment. His next sentence came out in a mumble. "I haven't read that one yet...un."

Itachi sighed and returned to the bed. Sitting down on it, he handed the volume back to the blond who swiped it from him and held the book almost protectively. The Uchiha watched as his guest continued to read, though he turned way so he couldn't see his expressions. Probably didn't want the other to see his reactions. Itachi knew for fact that Deidara enjoyed the series, but of course, admitting to something so childish would have went against his pride as a hardened Iwagakure ninja.

"Just make sure to clean up before six, or take them to your room." Itachi informed him, only to earn a weak glare back. He sat silently for another moment, then decided to pick up a volume of his own. Flipping to the first page, Itachi decided to talk as he occupied himself.

"So," Deidara's tone grew serious. "Have you gotten started yet, un?"

Itachi skimmed through each word-bubble, not truly reading the pages but getting a vague idea of the plot. "I got started a long time ago. The nine-tails is low-risk for now. I seriously doubt it will be a problem for us." His gaze lifted from his page to the other organization member. "What I'm really worried about is yours."

"You mean Sasori no danna's? I'm just helping him remember?" Deidara flipped the page. "Since he got shackled down by the Kazekage's kids, the organization worried that he wouldn't be effective enough. He's told me the information, so I know a little bit about what the one-tails is capable of, un."

"Even so, you're still undergoing training." Itachi closed his eyes. "I would have thought my partner would have been a better choice."

"Yeah well, it's not like we can choose who goes," Deidara chortled. "Anyways, I heard the transformation of the one-tails is different from the norm. Apparently my specialty won't be effective, un?"

"Theoretically, it won't work at all." Itachi closed his book and set it between his knees. "That's why I wanted to put forth my partner instead. If only he wasn't busy in the Land of Waves right now."

The Iwa nin smirked. "I heard he was getting rid of the remnants of that Gato group wasn't he? Taking revenge for one of his own I see? I thought he didn't like Zabuza, un."

Itachi just hung his head. "I honestly don't know. Anyways, Sasori seemed rather ticked off."

"You mean about getting his puppets back?"

He shook his head. "No, I meant since the start. I've thought about asking him but it's hard to get in contact or find a chance. I've noticed he's gotten more argumentative lately. It's not like him."

"Oh, well there _is_ something on his mind, un." Deidara paused to recall his memory, looking up from his book. "It's really strange. Twelve sand ninja including two genin squads were killed in the last three weeks. Our job is to report all casualties that have resulted from the demons running amok. That hasn't been as easy for him though. He says it's twelve, but he suspects there's more, un."

"Only in three weeks?" Itachi blinked.

"Most of them were from the last week. I don't know how many since this week started, un." He laid down on the floor and picked up the next volume. The Uchiha stared blankly, taking in this new information.

"He suspects there's a cover up?"

"Most likely. There have been several deaths reported in the past month, about twenty-five including accidental death, old age, and several other causes. It's alarming, almost one death for each day. Sasori no danna's is complaining that he's been having difficulty getting witnesses to talk." Deidara couldn't help but grin. "He's so mad about it that he's been spending more time on his actual job than making puppets only he would want to buy."

"Then something must be happening behind the scenes." Itachi concluded, earning the full attention of the blond. He sat back and pinched his chin in thought, one arm wrapped around his torso. "The one-tails is one of the most aggressive cases we have. Sunagakure's population is small, so why would they let so many people die?"

"Well it_ is_ the dry season over there. The heat tends to kill and kill fast, un." Deidara put down his manga and began to bring up random causes that he could think up on the spot. "The heat can also make people irritable." He looked away and mumbled, "Explains why everyone over there are such sticks-in-the-mud, un."

_All these deaths? _Sasori was no doubt a hard-worker, but he tended to have a poorly written priority list. Of course, if he was found out to have been unable to report more than a couple of deaths, the organization would certainly dish out some sort of punishment. Itachi could understand why all of sudden, he was acting more like a member than ever instead of staying cooped up in his workshop. The puppeteer could at least show he was trying and get off the hook.

The man never did have much concern for his village has a whole.

"Also, you said this was Sasuke's room right?"

Itachi snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Deidara. The Iwa nin had sat up, gazing out the balcony. He didn't seem to be worried that he was cutting off their important discussion.

"You really gave your little brother the master bedroom? I would have thought it would be yours, un." Deidara glanced back at him.

"I didn't need the master bedroom," He explained. "I'm always off on missions for either the organization or the village, so I don't need the space or the items. A single bed is enough for me."

"How caring of you." Deidara replied flatly.

Itachi just chuckled at his sarcasm. His laugh died down and the two sat in silence once more. It was a bit difficult for them to talk normally like this. In their organization, many of them didn't interact unless called to duty and whatever came out of their mouths were warnings or formation plans. Most of them never talked about anything else but the work at hand. Itachi let the peace settle. Peace was so rare in his life now. He barely got enough sleep due to all of the missions he'd get back to back. He was a light-sleeper now, needing to get up as quickly as possible if there was an ambush. Sitting at home, not as a station for him to lick his wounds or recuperate, but as a place to stay and relax. Itachi exhaled and watched he wind glide over the rooftops of his neighbours. Overdue books couldn't get him down right now.

"I'm just a helper, un."

The Uchiha glanced down from the balcony, sighting the blond sitting quietly on the floor. His gaze was drawn to the corner of the room, eyebrows tense and eyes filled with thought. Deidara recalled the question he was asked by that one leaf kunoichi. "It's not okay for me to be here is it? I'm an enemy of Konohagakure, if I weren't here on orders, you're people would be trying to kill me right now, un." He made a bittersweet smirk. "Like the reason why I have to stay with you. If I rent an inn for myself, then I can't be guaranteed my privacy. I can't walk around the village alone without having people follow me out of suspicion. I need one of you to be around to make sure I'm not being pulled off the street and killed in revenge for the war, un."

Itachi's eyes lidded, sensing the tension in his voice. He couldn't deny any of that. That was why he told the blond not to leave when he needed to run to the library to pay his fees. Chances were, if he did, Itachi would be the one explaining to his superiors why Deidara's body was found in a ditch. Not only that, but Sasori was counting on him to keep the Iwa nin out of harm's way. It was hard enough to find competent members already.

His mouth thinned, then he tried to answer him. "I don't know whether or not it's okay for you to be here." Itachi met Deidara's gaze. He tried to smile, though he knew his points would be flimsy. "However, I know that I'm okay with you here. You are always welcome in this household, no matter where you're from."

"Yeah," Deidara looked away towards the balcony, quickly wiping a small tear from his eye. He couldn't believe how afraid he felt here. Everything was so new, so threatening. It was almost funny how wary he got around the trees here for fear that a leaf ninja would jump out and attack. "At least until the mission is over, un."

The Uchiha was silent for a moment, then decided that he had other things to do. He stood up from the foot of the bed. "Try not to focus too much on that. Konohagakure is a nice place if you get to know the people." Itachi moved to the door and grasped the knob, he glanced over towards the blond and smiled. "Who knows? Maybe someone will try to get to know you."

His spirits seemed to lighten slightly. Deidara only made a lop-sided smile and returned to his manga. Perhaps reading would stop him from stupidly reflecting so much. "Hopefully not the bad kind, un?"

"Hopefully not," Itachi chuckled and left the room.


	6. The Organization Akatsuki!

**The Organization Akatsuki!**

"Hey Kakashi?"

The jonin turned to glance down at his companion. Iruka's gaze was still fixed to the building just down the street. Dawn was always quiet, only the sounds of morning birds and the lonely bark of a dog somewhere in the distance. Kakashi grunted, signalling for the chunin to continue.

Iruka nodded, then turned his sights back to the road. "Why are the jonin and chunin being called for a meeting? I thought we already went over the chunin exams."

"Well, the chunin exams this year will be having special guests."

"Special guests? Just another lord right?" He thought for a moment. "Must be a big deal to make the Hokage call us all together."

"No, it's nothing like that." Kakashi denied his suggestion. "The organization has decided to send some of its members this year. We're being introduced so there's a chance of everyone getting along."

"The organization?" Iruka blinked and paused, watching the jonin stroll just a little further off. "What organization?"

Kakashi halted at this question, then turned around to gauge the expression of the other male. He saw no hint of mockery in his eye, and yet he still raised a curious brow. "You don't know?"

"No, I don't know. Who are we talking about?" Iruka restrained a bit of frustration in his tone. "What are we talking about?"

Kakashi blinked, then turned to glance at the Hokage residence. A hawk's cry could be heard over the silence, fading quietly as the jonin decided that a brief explanation couldn't hurt. He doubted that Sarutobi would explain himself. Nearly everyone, every personell at least, knew of the organization. Perhaps he needed to ring some bells. "Do you know a group called the Akatsuki?"

"The Akatsuki?" Iruka paused. "I've heard of them, but just the name."

"It was an organization established about eight years ago by rebel leaders from the Land of Rain." Kakashi motioned for them to continue walking. He received a nod and once they had returned to their route, he continued. "To sum it up, the Akatsuki are an organization that specialize in the handling and management of the tailed-beasts."

"The handling and management? All from the Land of Rain?" Iruka was skeptical. Of course he knew of the tailed demons, massive stores of chakra with will and form. In order to manage them, that would require the nations to allow the organization access to otherwise classified materials and information. As far as he knew, no nation was that open. Not even the leaf.

"Well, the concept was proposed originally fifteen years ago, but the idea was so novel and risky that it was shot down immediately. As of now, only three members of the organization come from the rain, they're the original founders. The rest of the members are all ninja belonging to several different nations, that way, no single nation would be excluded in the matters of the group. Everyone would have a say in how the spirits would be dealt with." Kakashi paused. "Or so that was the intention."

Iruka furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "Yeah, but still-" He was interrupted when the jonin looked at him.

"I know what you're thinking. The tailed-beasts are dangerous. Why let a bunch of foreign ninja handle them when it's solely a matter of the village who owns it?" Kakashi made a light sigh. "It's a common thought. The reason why the chunin and jonin were called together to meet them personally and clear away any doubts."

"Okay, but how many people are we talking here?" Iruka looked to the floor. "When the nine-tails attacked" He clenched his fists at the memory. "It took every jonin and chunin available to keep it away from village. Even then, the fourth Hokage had to step in and seal it away himself."

Kakashi slipped one hand out of his pocket and displayed three fingers. "Just three people."

"Only three?" Iruka repeated in surprise. "How could _three people_ possibly be enough to handle one of those things?"

"Don't think that the Akatsuki just accept any ninja that wants to join." Kakashi shoved his hand back into his pockets. "They only allow the best of the best, the absolute elite to become a member. After that, they endure several months or years of training, learning how to best handle and restrain a tailed beast. Itachi Uchiha of our village was deemed fit and became a member when he was only fourteen."

"Wait, are you saying they train their members so they're strong enough to fight a tailed beast!?" Iruka exclaimed.

The two walked underneath the gate, entering the property of the Hokage residence. It was silent in the yard as well, only a few lingering sparrows pecking at the dirt indicated any life in the morning. Everyone was probably already gathered, though Kakashi didn't like to be early. Of course, he couldn't afford to be late now but he got Iruka to agree to walk with him and arrive right when things would start.

Entering the building, the silence was broken when several people passed them in the hall. Iruka and Kakashi kept out of their way, noting the vests that indicated either a chunin or jonin ranking.

"Not to that extent of course." Kakashi skimmed his sights over the crowded hall, looking for the quickest route to where they needed to be. "Just enough to provide a challenge and wear them down. To be strong enough to go one on one with a tailed-beast, well" He paused. "I imagine only a Kage can do that."

The office was upstairs. Upon entering the room, the bustle of the hall had gone silent. Iruka noticed immediately and sealed his mouth shut, taking cues from the other shinobi in front that something serious was at hand. Even Kakashi appeared to tense slightly.

None of the others noticed their arrival, heads turned towards the front where an old man sat and smoked his pipe. Sarutobi glanced at them briefly, then appeared to do a mental head-count on the ninja that managed to get away from their schedules and arrive. The meeting was not manadatory by any means, but he knew that the shinobi of the leaf would be curious. _It seems as if Gai is missing..._

He withdrew the pipe from his lips and spewed a cloud of smoke. "This will be a short. I thank the shinobi who have decided to come in spite of the preparations being made. I understand the chunin exams are beginning in two days, so everyone is rushing."

_Hm? _Iruka blinked and noted three ninja standing at the front next to the Kage. They were quiet, facing the crowd of jonin and chunin. As it seemed, they would be the ones to speak. Iruka recognized that one of them was from the sand due to his uniform, calmly looking on with boredom. The one who stood by his side was obviously from the stone, though he appeared to be breaking a cold sweat. Itachi stood on the opposite side of the two foreign ninja, donning the usual green flak jacket.

"The purpose of this gathering is simply to introduce some personnel from the Akatsuki organization." Sarutobi took a moment to smoke his pipe.

A low murmur arose from the group. Not the excited kind, but a sort of concerned tone. The air was growing thick, and Iruka wasn't sure what to make of this. So those guys? Including Itachi, they were the Akatsuki huh? He gulped. All three of them all looked quite young. Especially the redhead and the blond. They looked like they were only teenagers. Surely they couldn't be that strong? Could they?

Sarutobi continued. "These three will attending the chunin exams not as squad leaders, but to assist with security. To honor their efforts, we will treat them as equals, fellow shinobi. The history we have with any of their villages isn't relevant, what matters now is that they have gone out of their way to help us." He blew another cloud of smoke, then turned to his right to face the two foreigners. "You may introduce yourselves, starting from my very right."

A man with bright red hair stepped forward. He was obviously from the sand, donning the standard flak jacket complete with shoulder guards. Beneath the vest, he appeared to wear bandages all the way from his wrists up his arms and ending at his neck. Two holsters were tied to his waist around the vest, holding two red scrolls.

"That guy is so young. How could he be member?" Iruka whispered to Kakashi.

"My name is Sasori, I'm a jonin from Sunagakure." His voice was flat, bored sounding even. It betrayed his youthful look, acting more mature than most who looked his age would.

The shinobi standing closest to him shuffled away slightly. Even the jonin eyed him with skepticism, and they were the elite of the village.

Sasori didn't seem to take heed of their looks, instead bowing deeply as a sign of respect. He seemed used to the cold stares, completely unaffected. "It's a pleasure to be working with all you." Sarutobi nodded and Sasori stepped back, finished with his introduction.

Now it was the blond's turn. Unlike the one from the sand, he didn't seem quite so calm and collected. Instead, he held a faltering smile, skin breaking out into a cold sweat as he tried to avoid the sea of gazes that were all directed on him. He moved slightly, then quickly stepped forward and began with a stutter.

"U-um, my n-name is Deidara and I-I'm a...a..." He trailed off for a moment and gulped, quickly averting his eyes towards Sasori, who only acted indifferently. "I'm a tokubetsu jonin and I come from...un."

There was only silence as he struggled with the frog in his throat. Deidara swallowed one more time and only trembled harder, unable to cope with the many gazes from ninja who he would normally consider his enemies. "Iwagakure. I'm from Iwagakure...a-as some of you maybe be able to tell...un."

"Tokubetsu jonin?" Iruka spoke just as low murmurs rose again in the jonin and chunin group. He turned to Kakashi and whispered, "You said they only recruited the best of the best right? I'd thought they'd all be jonin level or higher."

"It probably just means that he's got a skill that the organization wants," Kakashi explained in a hush voice. "I'd predict that this Deidara person is probably being promised a promotion soon."

Sarutobi grunted with impatience, causing the Iwa nin to jolt in fear. Deidara quickly bowed and rushed his next. "I-it's a pleasure to be working with you, un!" He immediately stepped back, eye squeezed shut. Sasori seemed to glance at him oddly.

"Alright," The Hokage started. "Now some of you may already know the third member but nonetheless, he will introduce himself." He gestured for the one on his left to speak.

Itachi stepped forward. "My name is Itachi Uchiha. I am a jonin of Konohagakure. It's a pleasure for me to hold this position and serve my village." He bowed, though not as deeply as the other two. When he stepped back, some clapping erupted from the other jonin and chunin, tiny smiles appearing on some of their faces and a few whistles of encouragement from the back of the room.

Sarutobi spewed a particularly large cloud of smoke, waiting for it to disperse before turning his eye back to the group. "These three have signed a contract stating that due to their positions, they cannot and will not interfere with the Chunin Examination or the personal affairs of this village unless completely necessary. As stated before, we will treat them fairly. Dismissed."

With a single word, bodies began to move and chatter rose among the crowd. Iruka and Kakashi stepped out of the way of the entrance to allow the ones leaving to exit the building. The room was alive once more, and the front could barely be seen anymore. Sarutobi appeared to have left himself through the back way, leaving the jonin and chunin to their own devices.

"Wow, this really was short." Iruka glanced up towards the clock at the back of the room. "It was only a little under ten minutes long."

"Most of us usually can't be bothered for something like this." Kakashi replied and leaned against the back wall. He slipped a hand into his weapons pouch and fished out his novel. "But there's a certain curiosity that comes with shinobi from the outside."

In the front of the room, Itachi took a moment to relax his shoulders and sighed. He turned and sighted the other two. Deidara and Sasori were discussing something while staring at the exit, voices drowned out by the endless chatter. Deidara in particular stuck close to him and even looked to be hiding somewhat from the mass of leaf ninja by placing himself between his partner and the wall.

"I want my puppets."

Deidara gave him a blank look. "Not in some run-down alley, at your inn, un."

"No way," Sasori protested. "Those sand brats are rooming next to me and Kankuro can't get off my back. If you give them to me there, then he'll want to see every single one of them. It'll take forever!"

"At least there are people who _want _to see your art, hm!" Deidara snapped back at him, only to earn a sharp glare of annoyance from his partner. He didn't want to end up explaining what they were doing to another accidental witness.

The two butted heads over their disagreement, earning some odd stares. The two broke it off when they sighted Itachi at the corners of their eyes. Itachi approached and gave Deidara a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You did good."

He only narrowed his gaze at the gesture. "Yeah, _I_ did good, and then everyone clapped for _your_ excellence, un," He spat.

Sasori stared for a moment, then muttered. "I want my puppets."

"You'll get them! Just wait, un!" Deidara snapped.

_Crackle..._

All three silenced. Itachi reached into his pocket and pulled out a red card with a beige underside. Words began to burn themselves into the paper, seemingly describing the specifications of an assignment. As if the air had electrified, all three nodded to each other and suddenly made a mad dash for the exit. They shoved their way past the crowd first and the shinobi slowly split to let them be on their way.

Iruka stumbled out of their path, nearly getting rammed into as the three fled the door behind him. He tried to gain balance again and watched as they only continued to sprint down the hall, making their way towards the stairs to the bottom floor. Iruka blinked in confusion and slowly jogged to the window opposite to the room in the hall.

Out in the yard, he sighted the three figures run and hop onto the fence that surrounded the Hokage's mansion. With the flick of a hand, they all donned strange looking cloaks, changing their uniforms on the fly. The uniforms were not like the usual standard attire of any one nation. Black cloaks with red clouds decorating the front and sides. A puff of white clouds erupted in front of them and the trio wasted no time to hop onto the white eagle that emerged.

Iruka, along with some other chunin looked on in awe as the bird soared into the sky at great speeds. He blinked and leaned into the window. "Where are they going?" He asked to no one in particular.

"I'd also mention that like the ANBU black ops, they can receive assignments at the drop of a hat." Kakashi sauntered up next to him, eyes also fixated onto the bird in the distance. "The missions they recieve are not always related to the tailed-beasts. More often, they're high-risk assignments that no one else will take, A rank and above. National and international level matters, since all of their members come from different backgrounds."

"Are they...are they really that strong?" Iruka's voice sounded breathless.

"They are." Kakashi tightened his brow and glanced at the men and women behind him. The jonin, particularly the older ones held their mouths shut, sending ice-cold glares out the window. Some of the looks were more fearful than vengeful, some refusing to acknowledge the leaving of the organization members altogether.

"That's why everyone is so wary of them," He returned to the window. "No one really know what kind of things they're capable of."

* * *

An old man sat quietly, sipping his tea as he looked on towards the other end of the room. A candle light flickered, illuminating the darkness just slightly to reveal a oil-brush painting depicting the branches of a bare tree beneath an empty sky. In the back of the room, a leaf ANBU black ops knelt on the floor, mask placed next to him as he ended his report.

"The Akatsuki?" His face wrinkled up and seemed to linger on a memory. "No, you must be mistaken. I destroyed that group years ago."

"Sir, I'm not mistaken. I heard Lord Hokage loud and clear, it's called the Akatsuki organization." The black op's voice faltered slightly as he began to doubt himself.

The old man didn't choose to scold him for his shaky tone, much too lost in his own thoughts. He set down the empty tea cup on the wooden table and placed his hands on his knees. "How many have come?"

"Two sir. Including Itachi Uchiha, that makes three in total." He replied dutifully.

His single eye opened slightly at the name. "Itachi Uchiha? Are you saying he's a member of this organization?"

"Yes sir."

The old man's hands twitched. "The Uchiha again." He muttered under his breath. Slipping his hand to the floor, his brushed against a wooden surface and he grasped the cane. The black ops looked up as his master slowly rose from the floor, the clattering his cane making a lonely sound in the dark room. "I heard of an organization popping up but they were distant and small in number. I was mistaken to have not paid more attention." The old man glanced over his shoulder. "Where was this organization founded?"

"I've heard it was founded in Amegakure, sir."

"Amegakure?" The old man's eye widened slightly. He pursed his lips and tightened his grip around his cane. "Those three little brats."

The masked ninja looked up. "Sir?"

He didn't wait for his subordordinate to continue. "The Akatsuki are a threat to Konohagakure. With the help of Uchiha and the sharingan, they plan to take control of the nine-tailed fox." He lifted his cane and whirled around to face the black ops, thrusting the cane onto the floor with a loud clack. "Assemble a team. I want them to be eliminated as soon as possible, preferrably before the final examination."

His underling dropped his head. "Sir!" The shinobi paused, then hesitantly lifted his gaze to look at the old man's feet. "What shall be our alibi for their absence?"

"I'll handle that myself."


End file.
